


Detroit: Become Free

by mostlikelytopunatu



Category: Detroit: Become Human, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: 3 Years On, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Dearborn, Detroit, Detroit Police Department, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Dpd, Elijah Kamski's Residence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hank's Home, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Revolution, Time Jump, Uprising, no beta we die like men, partners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:21:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlikelytopunatu/pseuds/mostlikelytopunatu
Summary: Nearly three years after the Android uprising in Detroit and the idea of peace in their time between Androids and Humans seems within reach.Then the attacks began.





	Detroit: Become Free

**Cyberlife Tower - Oct. 12th 2041__09:22AM**

……….system rebooting……….  
……….new hardware installed……….  
……….initializing sync for new hardware……….  
……….sync complete……….  
……….base systems operational and online……….  
……….new software installed……….  
……….configuring new programmes……….  
……….e.k. do you consent to these new programmes?……….  
……….c. yes……….  
……….e.k. consent confirmed……….  
……….running rk900……….

“Connor? Connor, can you hear me?”

The Android blinked several times as his optical units readjusted to the white sterile light. His internal interface came into clear view while his LED flashed yellow on his temple, processing his new parameters. He felt his thirium pumping through his synthetic biocomponents, carrying the new information throughout his body and connecting his new software and hardware together. He looked up as he focused his eyes on the person before him.

……….scanning……….  
……….sync in process……….37%……….  
……….sync done……….64%……….  
……….collecting data……….78%……….  
……….processing data……….100%……….

 

> Peterson, Harold  
>  Species: Human  
>  Born: 01/03/2002 // Cyberlife Employee  
>  Criminal record: None

“Connor? Can you understand me? I need a verbal confirmation, your systems should be resynced by now. How do you feel?”

Connor blinked again as he looked down at his hands, turning them over as his new vision showed him beneath his synthetic skin to the thirium coursing within his body. That was new.

“I feel...different.”

“You’ve successfully merged with the RK900 programme. We kept the RK800’s- _your_ physical appearance, as you requested. You’ll find all your previous abilities improved with the addition of all the new skills and technology that comes with the RK900. We’ve installed instructions as to how they each work as usual. Do you have any questions?”

He looked up from his hands to Harold Peterson, his optical units showing him the man’s heart beating calmly beneath his shirt, clear as day in Connor’s vision. An analysis scan revealed medical information that displayed itself on his interface.

“The analysis scans are automatic?”

“Yes. To save time. Though if you find it slightly overbearing on your internal interface you can change it to a manual setting at any time. It’s no strain on your processors obviously, you’re built to handle any amount of information coming in.”

“I understand.” The LED flashed a steady yellow once more as Connor adjusted the setting. There would be enough to get used to with his new updates for now without littering his interface with information he didn’t necessarily need at the time.

“We just need to run some final tests to ensure there’s no issues and you’re good to go, please follow me.”

Connor walked behind Peterson as they began to move through the Cyberlife laboratories. He noticed it was eerily quiet. Cyberlife had ceased the production of Androids during the uprising nearly three years ago. It had taken Connor almost all of that time to settle into the idea that his life was now his own, though he’d never imagined himself walking through the Cyberlife labs again nevermind getting himself upgraded from a prototype to a fully improved model.

He had been the most advanced RK800 prototype, or rather a failed one, depending on the view you held of him. Connor had failed to stop the Deviancy that led to the revolution of the Androids and had instead turned Deviant himself and aided them in a swift victory. He’d stayed in Detroit after the events of the revolution as it had been declared a safe zone for all Androids by the President while the Government and United Nations decided what to do with them in the long term.

They knew they were still trapped in a sense, tensions were thick as humans were split over the fate of Androids and their place in the world. Would the humans really share their planet with a more advanced and intelligent life form than themselves? Were they capable of compassion to those who had suffered?

These were the questions that had plagued Connor’s mind ever since he first awoke and realised that he was alive. That he belonged first and foremost to himself, not to a company or any human.  
The news promoting Android’s equality had calmed down in the years that had passed and while some progress had been made for their kind there was much left to be done. Connor had found himself in a position to act as a bridge between the two species, he’d almost begun to think it possible that humans and Androids could live together.

Then the attacks began.

* * *

 

**Cyberlife Tower; Foyer**

“You growing a new Connor in there or what, huh?”

“Please Lieutenant, the procedure your partner is undergoing can take some time, would you care for a hot beverage while you wait?”

Hank gave the Secretary a side eye glance before his eyes darted back to the double doors in the corridor to his left as they swung open. It was a Cyberlife employee. No one else. He sighed.

“No thanks, it won’t be strong enough.”

He returned to his seat in the waiting area, checking his phone from inside his jacket pocket for the time.

“Shit.”

He’d been waiting for Connor for nearly two hours. The visit to Cyberlife wasn’t planned, Connor had received a call early that morning to come in immediately after waking Hank to the news of another terror attack just outside Detroit on the TV. Hank hadn’t liked the timing of the attack and Cyberlife’s call, he’d only allowed Connor to leave if he went with him.

The Lieutenant tried to relax into the chair, the foyer was empty besides the Secretary and the employee that now stood talking near the front desk. It was a wonder to Hank how Cyberlife still had staff employed given the past three years events. He trusted the company no more than he did before it all began, he knew they didn’t care about what really happened to Androids, nevermind what happened to Connor.

Cyberlife had turned to research and providing aid to Androids after the uprising as their manufacturing lines had never been unfrozen since the incident. They’d lost much in the aftermath, financially and their place in the public’s eye. Somehow they’d managed to stay relevant, their air of superiority and defining place in the world overall still intact.

In the years that had passed since that fateful night in Detroit, Connor had come to live with Hank and Sumo. The hardened Detective trusted Connor more than most humans, hell they’d been through enough shit together. Hank cared about him, and his cause. They’d stayed in Detroit to help the Android movement led by Markus. It’d only been typical police investigative assistance they’d been able to offer so far, what with the Government’s refusal to handle the current situation with military aid. A number of humans returned to Detroit after the uprising, all wanting to live equally and peacefully with Androids. Hank thought it was like something out of a shitty old sci-fi movie with an unrealistically happy ending, he was wrong of course. He’d wished now that he’d been right.

After the terror attacks started six months ago, they were thrown back into the thick of it trying to find the origin of the brutal violence displayed upon the Androids in and surrounding Detroit. Connor had become increasingly irritated at the situation, recently confessing to Hank that he was designed to solve whatever cases he was given but he felt that what they were investigating was so much more than petty hate crimes. He felt insufficient in dealing with it.

* * *

 

**Three Days Earlier - Hank’s Home, Detroit**

“What do you mean you give up? I thought you said this was your mission now?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t do it anymore Hank! Don’t you get it?! I’m a prototype! I was never completed!”

Hank glared at Connor. The Android was really starting to piss him off.

“You’re a lot of things Connor but I never took you for a goddamn coward.” He spat the words at his partner without reserve. They very rarely if ever argued seriously, usually carrying a line of banter back and forth daily which held no real weight. This was different.

The LED spun smoothly from blue to yellow on Connor’s temple. His eyes narrowed at Hank. “I can’t fix this, it’s beyond me. It’s as simple as that. I’m sorry if you don’t understand but I can’t make it any clearer for you.”

His words were laced with his own contempt for Hank’s anger towards him. Connor was frustrated enough with himself, he didn’t know how to process it coming from his partner as well.

The Lieutenant’s brow was knotted, tired glacial blue eyes fixed hard on his partner. “It’s not about you, Connor. Those people need your help and you’re gonna’ do nothing because what- you’re afraid to fail? The _fuck_ is wrong with you?”

Connor’s eyes left Hank’s face, his balance jolted as his partner shouldered past him like a tank, the Detective turning his head back as he walked away.

“Get your shit together Connor. You might be the only one who can solve this.”

* * *

 

**Cyberlife Tower; Foyer__10:11AM**

“Lieutenant Anderson?”

Hank stirred from his restless thoughts, turning his gaze from the window on the 41st floor to the Cyberlife employee stood behind him in the foyer.

“Yeah?”

“The procedure is complete. RK800- _Connor_ has been fully upgraded, there were no problems with the post-procedure analysis tests.”

The Detective eyed the man, looked around the room and raised his arms up in a fractious manner.

“Well that’s just great, but where the hell is he?”

The employee clutched his hands together as he readied himself to calm the man when the double doors opened to the left.

“Lieutenant Anderson, won’t you come through? I have some information to share with you.”

Hank looked over at the woman in the doorway. She wasn’t dressed in the Cyberlife employee uniform. Her auburn hair was down to her shoulders but well kept, she didn’t work in the labs. Her dress suit hugged her figure nicely, it was expensive.

“Where’s Connor?”

“Right through here, please follow me.” She led the way as he followed her up the corridor. The air was just as crisp and sterile as the foyer, it left a feeling of doubt and suspicion knotted in his stomach like the withered bonsai tree he had for some reason retained on his work desk at the DPD.

They took a number of turns down the indistinguishable corridors before entering a meeting room. Hank had tried to keep track of which directions they had turned but it all slipped from his mind the second he saw him.

“Hello, Lieutenant.”

Connor stood in the meeting room, a half smile veiling the very real uncertain and disquieting look that Hank had come to read on him all too well in the past months. The casual clothes he’d come in wearing were gone, replaced with dark grey combat pants, military boots, and what looked to be a reinforced kevlar jacket.

“Connor- you alright? Thought they were making you from scratch or something, it’s been hours.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to wait so long. I’m okay, it’s a time consuming procedure, but it was a success.”

The Detective made a mental note to grill Connor over the worry he’d been feeling all morning but Hank sensed that by the look of him he’d have to save that for later. He poked a finger at Connor and turned his head to the woman as she walked to the head of the table.

“The hell happened to his clothes? He can wear whatever he likes now it’s not for you people to dress him anymore.”

“He’s been upgraded with very expensive Cyberlife products. If I’m not mistaken Connor had more than a few accidents from the previous investigation during his time with us, so please accept a more sturdier attire for his protection. There are no Android markers on the clothing as you can see. Please gentlemen, take a seat.” The woman spoke warmly but not without authority, her hand gesturing for them to sit.

Hank’s lip curled slightly as he pulled out a chair opposite Connor and they both sat, he felt like he’d been sat down all morning. The sooner they left the better so he could stretch his legs and forget this damn place.

“What’s this about? Why’d you call him in suddenly to run this _procedure?”_

The woman raised a brow as she sat at the head of the table. She straightened her suit jacket and rested her hands on the fine oak wood, clasping them together.

“My name is Meera. I’m the liaison between Cyberlife and the Government, and therefore in extension, the President. I’ve been asked to inform you both that the Government has decided to help the situation in Detroit. It’s our hope that with your new resources you received here today you will both assist the team already on the ground in the investigation into the terror attacks and put a stop to them.”

Connor’s LED flashed steadily but it remained blue, it appeared that this was not something that he hadn’t considered already. Hank however, wasn’t settling with the notion too well at all. His eyes shifted from the woman, to Connor and then back to Meera.

“Why have you waited until now? This has been going on for half a year and the President and Cyberlife decides to step up and do something about it now?” Hank’s face was full of distaste but he was trying, for what reason he wasn’t sure- to retain some level of professionalism.

“There have been...obstacles in our path. We knew you were both trying to handle the smaller disturbances and the missing Android cases already but were struggling to grasp the full situation. The RK800 was never completed and it’s been almost three years since it’s-”

Hank shot Meera a look as his sharp eyes bore into hers. She wasn’t helping herself in the current situation.

_“-his._ It’s been almost three years since Connor’s model reveal. We haven’t been able to send an RK900 model as we would have liked and I’m sure you know our manufacturing lines have been frozen since the incident. We had the technology available, but no _body_ for it, so to speak.”

She spoke the last words carefully, minding Hank’s preferences when it came to discussing his Android partner. He seemed to let her off with it, resting a hand on the table as he leaned back into his chair.

“So what strings did you have to pull to get this procedure done today? If I’m not mistaken, it breaches the terms of the agreement Cyberlife made to no longer work on, or create new Android life. Connor’s still Connor, but he’s had improvements to his abilities, that’s outside the amendments Cyberlife now have to adhere to. They’re bound solely to reparations across all Android life.”

The Detective tilted his head in question as he finished his statement. Meera wasn’t looking at him anymore, her gaze falling just past him in thought, her lips meeting in a straight line as she pursed them together.

“This isn’t strictly speaking authorized by the Government.” Connor looked over to process the perturbed look on Hank’s face as he spoke.

“Is it Meera?”

The woman sighed, knowing full well that it was not Government authorized and that it was a stupid thing for them to have her insinuate to a now upgraded RK900 model Android. Of course he knew she was lying.

“No, it’s not. But that’s as much as I can tell you. You have Cyberlife’s assistance should you need it if you come into difficulties during your investigation.” She stood up, Hank and Connor following suit.

“Wait a second, that’s it?!” Hank was pissed. He’d been wary of bringing Connor back into Cyberlife after everything that had happened. His partner had told him about the hacking attempt made by his previous handler at the end of the uprising. Cyberlife had the power to destroy Connor if they wanted, and now they had him doing their dirty work putting his life on the line? The Lieutenant wasn’t leaving without a decent explanation.

“What else is there?” Meera’s question seemed candid but they both knew it was an old routine for her.

“I wasn’t expecting a goddamn tea party here today but you’re wrong if you think we’re leaving here without all the information we need now that you’ve got Connor putting his life at risk. You said we were struggling to grasp the full situation before. What _is_ the situation?”

Meera opened the door to the corridor and glanced back to Connor before stepping out.

“Find Markus. He has the information you seek.”

* * *

 

**BREAKING NEWS:**

**THE PRESIDENT HAS TODAY AGREED TO SEND AID TO THE ANDROIDS IN DETROIT TO SOLVE THE RECENT TERROR ATTACKS THAT HAVE PLAGUED THE CITY AND ITS SURROUNDING AREAS.**

**IT IS NOT YET KNOWN WHAT FORM THE HELP IS TAKING AS THE PRESIDENT HAS REFUSED TO REVEAL THE IDENTITIES OF THE TEAM THAT HAVE BEEN TASKED TO THE OPERATION.**

**THE LATEST TERROR ATTACK STRUCK EARLIER THIS MORNING AT 06:13AM IN DEARBORN ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DETROIT. WE’VE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE MILITARY AND LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES NOW HAVE THE SITUATION CONTAINED. CASUALTIES ARE YET TO BE CONFIRMED BUT IT IS LOOKING TO BE BOTH HUMAN AND ANDROID LIVES LOST TODAY.**

* * *

 

**Kamski’s Residence__10:42AM**

The cool liquid slipped into his mouth as Kamski tilted the glass, it was refreshingly sweet. He lowered his gaze back to the TV, the news broadcast having just ended. He placed the empty glass into the hands of the Chloe Android standing next to him and heard her bare feet padding away lightly on the tiled floor as he spoke.

“It seems our friends in the Government have finally taken my advice.”

He sat down on the sofa in front of the TV, his steel eyes scanning over the files spread across the low glass table. They were all recently edited. Only three were of great interest to him at this time.

Connor [RK900] - Active  
Captain Starling - Active  
Markus [RK200]- Active

A smile pulled at his lips as he pulled one file apart from the rest. _Connor [RK900]._ The sound of Chloe’s light steps returned as he held his hand out to the side, his eyes still on the photo attached to the front of the file. The ice cold glass touched his fingertips and he wrapped his digits around it as he rested his arm on his knee, the liquid swirling against the side as he did.

“Everyone is ready. Begin test.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? I'd love to hear them. Part of a (current count) 13 chapter series, but we'll see how it goes. Based on Quantic Dream's latest PS4 release; Detroit: Become Human.   
> Imagine a pacifist playthrough of the game where everyone survives but add in a dash of violence during the revolution towards the end and you have the backdrop for this story.


End file.
